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Monday, November 06, 2006

Incubating Bearded Dragon Eggs

During the process of bearded dragon breeding, the owner should supply an ample place for the female bearded dragon to lay her eggs. This is extremely important, as the bearded dragon will not generally lay eggs without some sort of nesting area. After the female has laid her eggs, it may be necessary to incubate the eggs.

The Hovabator is an egg incubator. This egg incubator must be properly set up and calibrated. To calibrate the Hovabator, you must first check the room temperature. Then you will adjust the device on top of the Herbovator according to the temperature. You will want the incubator temperature to be slightly warmer than room temperature. You may also need to leave the incubator to warm up for a short period of time and then make the necessary adjustments. The temperature should be somewhere around eighty one to eighty four degrees, you do not want the incubator warmer than eighty four while lower than eighty one is okay.

The bottom of the incubator should be lined with vermiculite. The vermiculite should be moist enough that you are able to form a ball out of the vermiculite. After your bearded dragon has laid her eggs, you will place them in small depressions o f the vermiculite. The first clutch of eggs by the female may be somewhat small and they will all fit fine in the incubator, however, the larger the clutches become, the tighter the fit will be for all of the eggs. The temperature of the incubator will also need to be adjusted depending on what season you are in. If your home heats up during the day in the summer, you may need to lower your temperatures on the incubator during the day. Exposure to temperatures above eighty-four degrees may be lethal to the bearded dragon eggs.

Humidity may also play an important role in the hatching of the eggs. Some suggest that the humidity in the incubator be around seventy to eighty percent. Humidity can be hard to adjust and daily misting will help you to increase your humidity if you so desire. Too much water and humidity may cause the eggs to mould and too high of a temperature may cause the eggs to cook. Too low of a temperature will prolong hatching.

Eggs will hatch in about seventy days or so. You will want to be prepared for the hatching by having several crickets ready for the babies, approximately around one thousand crickets depending on the size of the clutch. Babies grow rapidly and you will need to ensure that you have plenty of crickets ready to go. You will also want to gut load the crickets to make sure that the bearded dragon is receiving adequate nutrients. Eggs may also hatch as early as fifty-five days or so, it all depends on the humidity and temperatures in the incubator.

Many females may lay an infertile clutch of eggs. Examining your eggs closely will tell you whether or not your bearded dragon’s eggs are fertile or infertile. The fertile egg will have a round spot that is approximately one centimeter wide. This spot is visible through the egg’s shell. This spot is where the embryo is lying. You may also see blood vessels grow from this spot and soon you will see a red spot in an oval shape under the shell. This is the embryo and other membranes. If you have trouble seeing these signs, you may need to candle your eggs by shining a pen-light through them. Place the penlight against the end of the egg and rotate the egg until you see a spots. Eggs may be fertile even if they do not show and obvious spot. While incubating, you will want to place the egg so that the spot is facing upwards. This will ensure that they eggs are receiving ample heat. Placing the spot on the vermiculite side of the egg may cause the egg to die early.

Bearded dragon eggs will take in water as they sit in the incubator. A healthy bearded dragon egg will appear to be plump when laid rather than partially collapsed or dented. Dented eggs may be seen in the female bearded dragon’s first clutch of eggs, but this is okay. Often times, the first clutch of eggs are infertile and will not hatch.

As hatching nears, however, the eggs may begin to appear dented. These eggs should not be thrown away unless they have begun to mould as well. These dented eggs typically mean that the eggs are about to hatch.